Crab toast at Albert’s Wine Bar.Wayne Taylor.Albert’s is a destination for slow sipping and gentle grazing.
Naturally,there’s a cracking wine list,full of small Australian producers and well-priced European expressions,and the restrained menu by new chef Tom Ferne leaves no room for sub-par ingredients.
Take a seat under the wide on-street verandah or slide into an olive-green leather banquette for wildly decadent crab toast encrusted with sesame seeds,or creamy Spanish beans studded with chorizo in a subtle mandarin dressing.
A beautiful casarecce pairs with mellow,meaty duck ragu. Puffy ricotta doughnuts with chocolate anglaise are warm and satisfying,as is the inclusion of free,good bread:a rare and welcome treat.
With its traditional fitout – linen curtains,whitewashed walls and hand-drawn illustrations – it’s the type of place you walk past and immediately wish you were inside,with someone you love,sipping something delicious.